EC - Science and nature

1. Di Ciano Matteo, V C
Limit between science and nature
In 1970 the American oncologist Potter was the first to use the term “bioethics” in a publication,
Bioethics: Bridge to the Future, to advocate the development of a new discipline to address the
basic problems of human flourishing. Potter conceptualized bioethics as a bridge between
present and future, nature and culture, science and values, and finally between humankind and
nature.
“Bioethics” is a term with two parts: “bio” and “ethics”. “Ethics” refers to the identification, study,
and resolution or mitigation of conflicts among competing values or goals; “bio” puts the ethical
question into a particular context. The ethical question is “What should we do?”; therefore,
bioethics deals with moral, ethical, social and justice topics regarding scientific progress. Finally,
Bioethics often sparks debates about new issues, such as cloning, and old issues, such as using
a placebo to “treat” pain, or at least give the illusion of it.
There are multiple situations where science has finished to overcome nature, especially since the
900s, and this emphasizes the importance of bioethics inside the progress of science.
We have witnessed an unethical use of science, for instance, with the Nazi eugenics and the
Aktion T4; respectively the eugenics policy carried by the Nazi regime and a campaign of mass
murder by involuntary euthanasia practiced on patients who presented mental and physical
illness.
Another example can be found in the same period, in which atomic bombs became to be produced
based on the nuclear fission.
A few years later, hand in hand with the developing/evolution of science, genetic engineering, a
branch of biotechnology consisting in the direct manipulation of an organism’s genes precisely
using biotechnology, was born. It allows to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the
transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organism.
New DNA is obtained by either isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using
recombinant DNA methods or by artificially synthesizing the DNA. The first recombinant DNA
molecule was made by Paul Berg in 1972 by combining the DNA from the monkey virus sv40 with
the lambda virus. As well as inserting genes, the process can be used to remove, or “knock out”
genes. Genetic engineering, nowadays, is applied in numerous fields including research,
medicine, industrial biotechnology, and agriculture but the ethical issues that genetic engineering
has to face are significant.
Related to genetic engineering can be mentioned the biomedical engineering with the in vitro
fertilization, a form of artificial fertilization consisting in a complex series of procedures used to
help with fertility or prevent genetic problems and assist with the conception of a child.
As far as I’m concerned, science plays a key role in our lives. Notwithstanding regularly science
tries to overcame nature and sometimes it can evolve negatively, leading to unpleasant
consequences, there are as many times it can be considered positive from a utilitarianism point of
view; I therefore think that it all depends on the points of view from which we analyze the topic,

2. Di Ciano Matteo, V C
which cannot be single, and from the specific case. Scientific progress is extremely important, so,
with specific exceptions based on the foregoing, scientific research shouldn’t be limited.